Airbnb Review: Paris Flat in the 7th Arrondissement and Strasbourg Flat in the Center of the City

Hotel Review: Hilton Munich Park

Hotel Review: Hilton Zurich Airport

Flight Review: Swiss [777-300] Economy Class Zurich to Chicago

Hotel vs. Airbnb: Which One to Chose From When Traveling Internationally

After spending some time in the new United Club in Terminal C, we made our way to our date in Terminal D. We arrived at the gate to find the beautiful bird ready to go. The A380 we would fly on was named Brussel, which is the same plane that took Pete to Europe earlier this year. Boarding time came and went without even an update from the boarding agents. Then, after 15 minutes and a restless crowd, the agents finally said boarding would be delayed by 20 minutes. Once we finally we boarded the plane, we made our way to the second story jet bridge and made our way to the economy section in the rear of the upper deck. Seating was laid out in a 2-4-2 setup which is perfect for individuals traveling with a companion. We took out seats in 97A and 97B on the left side of the plane and settled in for the 9:45 minute flight to Frankfurt.

Tri engine DC-10 waiting to take off

Boarding took about 30 minutes to complete and we pushed back an hour after our scheduled departure time. Takeoff was on runway 15L and climb out of Houston was quiet and smooth to Megan's delight. The flight attendant who was working our section began drink service about half an hour after we left Houston.

Preparing for Oktoberfest!

The entertainment system will do the job just fine and Lufthansa has a great selection of new and classic movies. However, the seat back monitors are becoming outdated and I don't think we'll see Lufthansa refreshing these for their A380 fleet. I ended up watching Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 which was pretty entertaining.

If only our own Pete was as cool as Peter Quill...

Meal service began about an hour after takeoff and the choices were beef stew or chicken. I chose the former since we'd be eating a ton of poultry in France and Germany. I'm really glad I chose the beef stew. The beef was tender and very flavorful! Megan had a Gluten Free (GF) meal which was chicken and rice which she said was the most flavorful GF meal she's had on a flight.

By the time the meal service ended and our trays were cleared, we were over Ohio and had about seven and a half hours left before arriving into Frankfurt. I changed into some sweats and got settled in for the night. I managed to get about 5 hours of sleep at which point we were just west of Ireland. The second meal service began about 90 minutes before landing which consisted of a forgettable omelet and fruit. It was okay because I knew I'd have a proper breakfast in Frankfurt at the Senator Lounge in Terminal A thanks to my Star Alliance Gold status.

Beautiful sunrise just west of Ireland

What Lufthansa thinks can pass as an omlete

Dense flog in Frankfurt made landing very interesting. We didn't know where the ground was until we touched down!

Once through immigration, we made our way to Terminal A where our connecting flight to Paris was departing out of. Once we got into the Senator Lounge, I immediately put my name on the wait list for a shower. The shower rooms were clean and spacious and the shower it self was big with a rain shower head (my favorite). After a fantastic shower, I came back out to enjoy an early lunch before our flight. The Spatzle and Schwein were fantastic! After finishing our meal, we bid the lounge adieu and made our way to our gate.

Overall, I'd highly recommend taking a Lufthansa A380 flight to Europe. The plane was very spacious and the flight attendants were very nice.